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LOS ANGELES. — Louis van Gaal has been told he is free to break the world transfer record to bring the right players to Manchester United. Last year Real Madrid set the record by signing Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur for £86m, eclipsing the £80m they had paid United four years earlier for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Van Gaal, who will take charge of United for the first time in a friendly against LA Galaxy that kicks off in the early hours of this morning, has been told his transfer activity will not be constrained by money.

“It’s difficult to deal in hypotheticals based on lots of different things,” Ed Woodward said. “The reality is that we’re not afraid of spending significant amounts of money in the transfer market.”

The club’s executive vice-chairman added: “Whether it’s a record or not doesn’t really resonate with us.
What resonates is an elite player that the manager wants who is going to be a star for Manchester United.”

United have already paid £27m for Southampton’s Luke Shaw and £28.5m for Athletic Bilbao’s Ander Herrera. The £37.5m paid to Chelsea for Juan Mata in January is a United club record but Woodward says United will not be put off spending what it takes to secure the players of Van Gaal’s choice.

“Of course it’s in our capabilities,” he said. “You guys think about the money in a way that I don’t.” — The Guardian.